M J Quinn explain more about their carbon reduction projects around the UK and on the Tube network. W

hen the Underground is crammed with commuters on a busy week-

day morning, few pay any attention to the lighting that surrounds them on their daily journey, let alone stop to consider its im- pact in the wider world – and who could blame them? Yet, lighting is one of the pennies that, if looked after, will help the pounds look after themselves.

For years, environmental campaigners have urged us to make use of public trans- port, and particularly rail, as a lower car- bon option – but the focus is usually on the trains rather than the stations. Far away from any ideological hype, there lies a real opportunity to reduce carbon emissions in stations, in addition to those reductions already being made on the rail and under- ground systems themselves, just as there is in any other industrial building.

Since adoption of the Climate Change Act in 2008 and with further changes to legis- lation likely in the future, many business- es across the UK are now taking steps to measure and reduce their carbon footprint and, in so doing, realising that potential savings can be measured in more ways than carbon alone.

M J Quinn are now working on various carbon reduction projects around the UK,

the latest project they have embarked upon being Leicester Square station, working for Tube Lines Ltd. Founded in Liverpool over 25 years ago and still privately owned, M J Quinn has seen phenomenal growth over the last few years and boasts a client list to be proud of. Having worked on London Un- derground for 25 years and with long-term relationships with London Underground Ltd, Transport for London, Network Rail and Tube Lines already in place, M J Quinn are in a great position to understand and adapt to the constantly evolving rail busi- ness and its place in our changing world.

The project at Leicester Square involves up- grading systems including lighting, heating and ventilation with lower carbon alterna- tives. For lighting, this means replacing the existing low-energy bulbs with LED lamps. In doing this, the fi rst saving to be made is in carbon. At Leicester Square, the total number of lamps in the public-facing areas is in the region of 5,000. By upgrading a large station like Leicester Square to LEDs, over 35,000 tonnes of carbon per year is saved by the lighting alone.

Once LEDs are installed, running costs are signifi cantly lower too, as the 55-watt lamps currently in use are replaced with 26-watt LEDs, drawing less than half the power and instantly cutting the electricity bill.

Maintenance costs are also reduced con- siderably, for several reasons. The life of an average LED is 7,000 hours: that’s 3,000 hours longer than a typical low-energy light bulb, so they don’t need to be replaced as often. Also, as LEDs degrade slowly rather than failing suddenly, maintenance is more easily managed, through the design of a suitable planned maintenance programme based on acceptable lux levels. This gradual rather than instant failure, which has occa- sionally closed stations, means expensive emergency call-outs due to lamp failures should be a thing of the past.

Beyond the immediate savings, planning for the future is also easier. Should regu- lations governing lux levels change, as is widely expected, LED lighting enables the use of control systems that allow lux levels to be varied without the need for a further full upgrade.

So, next time you’re wandering through Leicester Square, remember the 5,000 light bulbs and spare a thought for the per- son that had to change them…